Blacksmithing: making a rush-light holder.

[@hfortenberry]

Fascinating! I was looking into buying an old-fashioned oil lamp and an hour later after surfing down an engaging history of lighting, ended up here. Gotta LOVE the internet! Thanks for sharing!

[@zxc1972]

"You're a blacksmith, not a machinist." Classic. Love it.

[@cmoayves]

The quality of the light in this video, the angles, the crispness of the whole thing realy puts your videos up there with the best. I particularly enjoyed this one. The product is very elegant. And when I get to reproducing lighting implements, this vid will cut down on my "figuring-out" time.

[@RowanTaylor]

+cmoayves Thanks mate :) I would make them slightly better quality but my CPU can't cope with much more, lol. I studied film and TV production years ago and have finally found a use for it!

[@caveofskarzs1544]

+cmoayves I agree, this is fantastic.

[@RowanTaylor]

+Cave of Skarzs Thanks guys :)

[@crystalsoulslayer]

I love watching the power hammer at work. It smashes things so... elegantly.

[@UncleKaboom]

"Like a photograph in a country living magazine." that made me laugh, but it was a very aesthetically pleasing shot. That aside well done. You work is inspiring I hope you keep posting videos.

[@RowanTaylor]

+Uncle Kaboom Hahaha, it was a pure fluke. I only noticed it looked nice when I was doing the commentary after I finished editing. I tend to go-off on one sometimes. I'm glad that you like my work. I may have to slow down the rate of making them soon though as they are quite costly in time and ressources.

[@FOB-yz7gf]

I really appreciate your videos. As a guy just starting in the craft you are giving me a great deal of information and tid bits to understand blacksmithing. Keep it up.

[@RowanTaylor]

+RCotter Hammering Glad you like them and good luck :)

[@DannyPoolMusicandMetalworks]

I hope it doesn’t come as an insult to say that you’re like the Bob Ross of blacksmithing. Great at what you do, and the soothing voice to match. lol Really enjoy your videos.

[@paulwood4769]

Brilliant and as ever I find myself learning something new every other minute, thanks.

[@thornwarbler]

lovely work your best video so far thanks for taking the time to make them.

[@RowanTaylor]

+thornwarbler Thanks mate :D I am pushing as hard as I can to get them as good as I possibly can!

[@just-dl]

I stayed to the end. I very much enjoy your work.

[@h2o270]

This is my most favorite video yet as this is the kind of stuff I would like to make. Would love to see how you do the scarf joint on a tripod because I would like to make a toaster.

[@RowanTaylor]

+Ron W I will see what I can do. 18th c domestic ironwork is one of my favourite things to do so I am sure that I will have cause to make another one at some stage :)

[@waxnmoon8604]

Awesome work. Yes that was a nice background while you were forging.

[@RowanTaylor]

+Rick Nowlin Thanks mate :) I went off on one a bit there!

[@edwardkennelly2042]

You Sir are a true artist. Very well done.

[@RowanTaylor]

+Edward Kennelly Thanks you :)

[@tasatort9778]

I've actually picked up your calling a Hexadecagon a "16-face-agon" and added it to "Squarcle" (Square + Circle = Squarecle) for those pieces that aren't squares or circles but a bit of both. Actually I have an odd vocabulary at times; but I'm sure you'll agree that it takes talent to create new words "on the fly".

[@MrRHAWKER1]

hi Rowan very impressed with your rush light holder as always great work I will have to make one

[@Aartwood]

Great video as always, lovely to see your new camera being put to brilliant use, and nothing like reading reactions to sensitive souls being slightly offended by your cheeky humour lol and your subs are flying up too! Minus one of your commenters ;)

[@RowanTaylor]

+Aartwood Thanks Craig :) I seem to have more fans than I ever expected to get! I don't set myself out to offend though and will try to be less cheeky in the future.

[@Aartwood]

+RowanTaylor no! Don't change! It makes your videos more human, more entertaining, and more personal, people are too easily offended these days, keep up the hard work!

[@RowanTaylor]

+Aartwood Thanks mate :) I needed to hear that as I am quite good at doubting myself and finding flaws in my work lol!

[@Aartwood]

+RowanTaylor ah it's Sunday see, the greatest day for wisdom, and coincidently the greatest day for paintball too! ;)

[@Aartwood]

+RowanTaylor ah it's Sunday see, the greatest day for wisdom, and coincidently the greatest day for paintball too! ;)

[@nicko9404]

great video and work cant wait till the next video!!

[@RowanTaylor]

+Hot Iron Art Thanks mate :)

[@driveheronman4304]

+RowanTaylor thanks for sharing Rowan, your a tricky lad 😉

[@RowanTaylor]

+driveheronman Haha, thanks mate :)

[@64t120r]

That's really nice. Thanks for showing it.

[@MrRHAWKER1]

hi i just love your rush light holder a wonderful work of art thanks.

[@ryanthemagicdragon]

I love the splizzle.

[@RowanTaylor]

+Ryan Johnson Yeah, it's secret shorthand for chisel split, LOL. Figured I'd leave it in the commentary as it made me laugh, lol

[@ryanthemagicdragon]

+RowanTaylor It's actually a technique American gangster blacksmiths use.

[@marcsenteney3160]

Very nice work sir. But i have a silly question and for give me for not knowing this....But what were they or are used for? Was there a particular craft they were used in? Again forgive me but it looks like a something one would use to make fly hooks for fishing. But I am sure there was a different use as you mentioned there are antiques of these.

[@RowanTaylor]

+Marc Senteney Not a silly question at all - many people don't know what they are and I should really have explained properly in the video - my bad! Back in the day, candles were quite expensive so people used to collect rushes - not bullrushes but the spiky green grass which grows in boggy areas. You peel the skin off the grass and you are left with the pith from the centre. If you dip the piths in your bacon fat you can then burn them like candles for a fraction of the price! The rushlight would have been used to hold them :) Here's a wiki link en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rushlight

[@marcsenteney3160]

+RowanTaylor Thank you sir. Again very nice work there.And now educational too. Keep up the great work.One day i hope to be able to do some of the things you produce in qualtiy and style.

[@glennwiebe5128]

+Marc Senteney You could, thereby, scent your entire house with the lovely aroma of bacon.

[@stephenfewson7188]

Niiccceeee work mate. G'day from Australia 🇦🇺

[@sparXKuijper]

Chisle-split : "Splisle" - I like it. ; )

[@DannyPoolMusicandMetalworks]

I laughed more than I should have, when I heard him say "splizzle."

[@Jiminycroquet]

Lovely work as always, Rowan. I'll be coming to England later this year for the anniversary of the battle of Hastings. Do you teach classes at all? I'd love to come and learn from you.

[@RowanTaylor]

+hellbirdsflight I do do lessons, indeed - what would you like to make? I'd have to charge for lessons but if you want to just come and sit in the corner and watch while I just get on with my daily routine then that is free!

[@Jiminycroquet]

+RowanTaylor I'd love to make one of these rushlight holders, and some tongs. I'm rubbish at tongs. Also I'd love some instruction on forge welding. Actually I'd be happy doing just about anything. I'm only just starting out and don't have much of an idea how to do things. Happy to pay for lessons. How much do you charge per hour/day?

[@RowanTaylor]

+hellbirdsflight Send me a message on [e-mail] and we will organise something :) Where are you coming over from?

[@deliaguzman1138]

I notice you did both riveting jobs cold--I've only ever seen it done hot. What is the advantage of cold vs. hot? Displacement/Misshaping of the metal? Thanks!

[@RowanTaylor]

+Delia Guzman The first one was cold for two reasons: 1) convenience - handling a very small rivet when hot is a pain. 2) the hinge plate has to be able to open and close and a hot rivet will shrink tighter than I might like. The second one was actually hot as you will see when I put it in the vice. It is just that it cooled down quickly. Ideally I would have put the gas torch on it but that risks distorting the legs as well.

[@deliaguzman1138]

+RowanTaylor Thanks! By the way, I really appreciate your detailed narration without all the noise of the hammering. I'm just a beginner, but I'm really trying to study your technique. It just always looks so much easier on here than when I'm doing it myself! But I do enjoy how slowly one can work, and how forgiving the hot metal is.

[@RowanTaylor]

Delia Guzman No worries :) I am glad that you like the videos! There are still a couple of things I want to improve on but otherwise I think that the format is pretty much there now. I have been told that I make it look easy before but you will too with a bit of practice :)

[@rezganger]

I am not a blacksmith but I find ur videos very,very satisfying to watch! Thanks for posting. (whats a rush-light and what is this thing u made used for?Please excuse my ignorance)

[@lowescottage]

Thank you. Elegant, instructive, beautiful. Appreciated in every way.

[@caveofskarzs1544]

Are those massive clinkers at 18:20?

[@RowanTaylor]

+Cave of Skarzs yup! they are. Voke produces bigger clinkers than coal lol. Halfway through the video I had an emergency job come in from the canal as a paddle-rod was found to be defective so I had to whack up the fire and make a new one in record time!

[@caveofskarzs1544]

That's interesting. I use coal instead of coke, so I guess that's why my clinkers aren't very large. Do you often get called for emergency jobs like that?

[@RowanTaylor]

+Cave of Skarzs Usually I get a couple of days notice but from time to time it has to be done ASAP as it is a working canal and water may be escaping or a lock out of use until I can produce replacement parts. Because most of the metal work is 100, 200 or 300 years old it is all hand forged to measure for a specific job so nothing is standardised and it can only be replaced by a blacksmith.

[@caveofskarzs1544]

Wow. You've got some cool projects to do. We don't have anything that old around here that anyone would want to replace or have much need of a blacksmith for, so I'm kinda jealous. Cheers, and happy forging!

[@sparkjax1]

awesome piece. what is a rush light?

[@RowanTaylor]

+sparkjax1 I should really have specified that in the video, shouldn't I. Basically if you take some stems of Juncus Effusus and peel off the skin you are left with just the pith in the middle. Dip that in your old bacon fat and youhave a really cheap form of ligting. They were used from pre-roman times right up until well into the 20th century.

[@sparkjax1]

+RowanTaylor huh learn something new every day

[@jamminbucy7781]

RowanTaylor ok whats juncuss Effidus? . tall grass ?what .?

[@gummel82]

Lovely! Rowan could you make a video about how to calculate the calculate the stock material size for the forgings? Greetings from Switzerland

[@DanelonNicolas]

nice work! how long takes you create this light holder?

[@RowanTaylor]

+Nicolas Danelon For the video about five hours but about 2 to 3 hours when I'm not filming.

[@DanelonNicolas]

thanks! good job, I love ur channel !

[@RowanTaylor]

+Nicolas Danelon Thank you :)

[@stenzeliron6818]

Love the videos!!!

[@onesaltyzombie]

You do very good work. Nice detail

[@NickBlair-qn8ro]

very well narrated every step was explained

[@KowboyUSA]

Wish I was wealthy enough to afford a rushlight. If I was then a holder would come in handy. *(nice looking piece)

[@RowanTaylor]

+John Ratko Hahaha same!

[@Cadwaladr]

Very nice. I suppose if you want an actual rushlight to put in it you'd have to make your own. I live in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, so rushes, at least, are not hard to come by.

[@RowanTaylor]

+Cadwaladr That sounds beautiful! It has been a while since I have made any. I kind of like the holders but not the smell of the rushes!

[@jamminbucy7781]

Cadwaladr what the hell are rushes? and juncuss Effidus. ?

[@anthonykent7983]

Hi thank you for your video's. You have such a calm way of teaching. Looking forward to trying some of your projects one day. Do you give lesson's in person? Anthony Kent

[@11h5p4]

Great video love your hammer work. Watching you work it’s amazing it is deceptively simple in appearance but truly is not you are a great craftsman. Be safe God bless Theron

[@jeremynading2006]

I can't think of what it's proper term is right off hand but you "sixteen-face-agon" or as in the first video I saw of yours ( though I can't remember what that was exactly) "sixteen-side-agon" makes my wife and i laugh every time, but it makes sense to me. it's clever and witty in my opinion.

[@jamminbucy7781]

whats a rushlight holder?

[@timpuddephatt4996]

its a holder for rush lights.... rushs dipped in tallow or someother burnable fat, a primitive candle.

[@chrismennega3042]

its a type of candle formed by soaking the dried pith of the rush plant in fat or grease and instead of being burned in a case is held by the lamp as it wont burn lying down

[@MiltonTucker]

Hammerless peasant? Guilty as charged, for now.

[@RowanTaylor]

+Milton Tucker You will love it when you get one!

[@angelann9372]

Wow, thank you very much, I love you💜💙💚💋❤